The Grilo Wedding

Was beautiful! Cassie made a most beautiful bride, and in her Cinderella dress, she was breathtaking! They got married in a Cathedral, and then we took a limo bus to a Vineyard in NH to the reception.

On Saturday Drew and I drove into Boston. We had a lobster lunch, walked around the city, and took a nap in the Boston Commons. We then stayed the night with Cassie and Brian in their new home. Sunday we drove into Salem, and stopped at the House of Seven Gables, and birthplace of Nathaniel Hawthorne. We had a fun visit in Boston, even if it lasted a day longer than it should have due to bad weather in Chicago. We had the pleasure of enjoying another 24 hours in Manchester, New Hampshire - a very random day of sightseeing! We went to the Stoneyfield Yogurt factory, an LL Bean Store, a downtown eatery, and a park for a hike through the woods. Congratulations to Brian & Cassie Grilo :)

We enjoyed the lovely weather, and took a nap in the sunshine in the Boston Commons :)

Even in Boston we found a little Chicago (a map of all the neighborhoods that make up the city)

This Weekend's Adventures

Ok, so I'm on time for this one :)

Saturday morning we went a couple miles north to do errands. Drew needed to get an oil change for the car, etc. so we went to the Lakeview neighborhood. This is a great area, and we had breakfast at Ann Sathers for the first time, a Swedish restaurant, that was decorated super cute, and had amazing cinnamon rolls. Then we found an outdoor cafe to lounge outside in the sun for a while. 

Later than night we went out with friends to a few of our favorite neighborhood bars, by 8:30 most places near us had lines! It's crazy, people start their evenings early here! We then went to a comedy show at place we hadn't been before, around midnight, after enduring one of the worst cab drives there. I wasn't crazy about the show we saw, but it was an experience.

After that we tried a hot dog place (Chicago is known for it's hot dogs, but I have to say, I don't think I'm a hot dog person!) Finally, we went to Kingston Mines, a jazz place that I had much higher hopes for. It was pretty empty there, so we didn't stay long, although long enough to mark our names/cities on the wall...

Haven't done much today, just straightened up around the house, and watched several episodes of 4400 on Netflix. We were able to keep the sliding door and windows open all day as the weather was great!

Thursday (on Drew's birthday), we're flying to Boston to attend Cassie and Brian's wedding. 

Hope you had a nice weekend!

Last Weekend's Adventures

I wish I were more on top of the times, but better late than never! Last weekend we had glorious, glorious sunshine, the temperatures were at 69 degrees...such a tease right below 70! On Sunday we went for the first bike ride of the year, four miles along Lake Michigan, and then through the city with a few stops along the way. The first along the Chicago Riverwalk, and the second at our favorite roof top. It is a magical feeling having the sun on you after so long without!

The night Obama Closed down Lakeview Drive

A couple of weeks ago Lake Shore Drive (which is like the equivalent of I-75) but on the water was shut down for a car chase with a fugitive that ended in an eight hour stand off. We had front row seats to that as our apartment overlooks Lincoln Park and Lake Michigan, and Lake Shore Drive. It was incredible to see what happens when an 8 lane highway is closed. It caused massive traffic through the park, and streets that normally do not see many drivers.

So, imagine our surprise last night when we looked out the window and saw LSD closed again! This time there was a police boat in the water, and once again the traffic was snarled through the park and the street near us. So I immediately looked on the Chicago Tribune to see what was happening, and there was a tiny article about a visit from President Obama. So we put two and two together and figured they must be expecting him to go through this stretch of road.

A little while later we saw the motorcade go through! Here is the news article about it:

Obama spoke at the Chicago Cut Steakhouse, where he is attending a private roundtable discussion for the Democratic National Committee. Twenty-five supporters will attend that event, each paying up to $32,400.

Around 7 p.m., President Obama will attend a dinner reception at a private residence in Lincoln Park. Fifty-five supporters paid up to $10,000 to attend this private reception.

President Obama will only be in Chicago for a few hours before heading back to the White House. In anticipation of President Obama's visit, some closures on Lake Shore Drive are in place and LaSalle Street north of the Chicago River is also closed in the River North neighborhood. The president is expected to leave Chicago around 8:30 p.m.

Well, you can't tell very well, but where the flashing lights are is where the motorcade is:

Chicago: Coldest December to March Period Since 1872

It's official! A co-worker just told me the National Weather Service called it -

Spring weather will accompany the start of April in Chicago this week, providing relief from the coldest December to March period in Chicago history.

Ranked officially as the 19th coldest March on record in the city with an average temperature of 31.7 F, Chicago broke it's previous record set back in 1872 for its coldest December to March period ever recorded.

For 2013-2014, the city's average temperature for December to March now tops the charts with an average of 22 F for the time period, according to the city's NWS office.

Despite the harsh cold of March, April began with much milder, more springlike, weather.
For the first week of April, midweek was marked by rain showers and temperatures in the low 40s.

Heavier rain and thunderstorms will drench the region Thursday with showers following up on Friday. The soaking rain on Thursday will keep temperatures in the 40s.

However, temperatures will rise back into the lower 50s by Friday and continue to increase through Sunday.

In time for the weekend, partially sunny skies will return to the city with temperatures reaching the mid-50s by Sunday.

Rain will return again on Monday.


*So great - now that it's finally not cold - it's rainy! And a walking commute means walking in all kinds of weather! Can't wait for the nice days :)  April showers will hopefully bring gorgeous May flowers!



What is this? "A few peaks of sunshine possible?" I don't know if this is the most optimistic weather forecast I've seen, or the saddest....